Ubu Ubu Roi/ Ubu Cocu/ Ubu Enchaine/ Ubu sur la Butte (Paperback)

~ Alfred Jarry (Author)
Key Phrases: phynance charger, little wooden pick, green candle, Mister Ubu, Free Men, Master of Phynances (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A re-issue of three plays that ushered in the great age of absurdist theatre There was a riot at the first performance of Ubu Roi on 10 December 1896, when Firmin Gemier, playing Ubu, strode to the footlights and roared: "Merde!" at the audience, and theatre would never be the same again. Ubu became a force to be reckoned with in literature, art and politics. Jarry wrote more exploits for him and took to acting the role of Ubu himself in his own brief, strange life. This volume contains lively modern translations by Cyril Connolly and Simon Watson Taylor of Ubu Roi, Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaine as well as Jarry's writings on theatre."The Ubu explosion sent shrapnel flying into the next century. Dada, Surrealism, Pataphysics, Theatre of Cruelty, the Absurd - all owe a debt to Jarry." (Charles Marowitz, Encore) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 533 pages
• Publisher: French & European Pubns (October 1, 1978)
• ISBN-10: 0785901043
• ISBN-13: 978-0785901044
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,151,262 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terry Gilliam meets Shakespeare by way of Troma Films!, May 14, 2000

By	Jeffrey H Wang (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ubu Plays: Includes: Ubu Rex; Ubu Cuckolded; Ubu Enchained (Paperback)

Alfred Jarry is the grandfather of modern day surrealism, and the Ubu trilogy is a great, twisted work of genius. It reads like Shakespeare crossed with a slasher film. It's also a great parody of anything you can think of, and it is quite hilarious. The Ubu trilogy deals with the epic rise and fall of Pa and Ma Ubu, as they become Kings of several European countries, get involved in murder more than once, fight in wars, have deadly encounters with bears in caves, and even voluntarily become slaves. Great stuff! If you like Samuel Beckett, then you have to check out Jarry too!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild book!, October 1, 2000

By	Christian Richard (Moncton, NB Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ubu (Drama Classics) (Paperback)

This is a school joke that has evolved into an epic! McLeish's translation takes a lot of liberties and sometimes many things are lost. On the other side, he possesses great wit and through compensation, his work comes out as one of the best translations!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Translation, June 11, 2008

By	T. Bickley - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ubu Plays: Includes: Ubu Rex; Ubu Cuckolded; Ubu Enchained (Paperback)

I have read other worthy translations of the Ubu plays but from what I can tell so far, this is one of the best, if not the best, translations I have read so far. The scatological humor shows through strongly on every page and the dialogue flows nicely. The book also offers some well-written background on Jarry's life and works, which makes the book useful not only from a theatrical standpoint, but from an academic one as well.